How to sell your home yourself in Brisbane

Yes, and this is the step most private sellers underestimate. Under Queensland's seller disclosure scheme, in force since 1 August 2025, you must hand the buyer a completed and signed Form 2 disclosure statement plus the prescribed certificates before they sign the contract. The certificates that must accompany Form 2 include a current title search from Titles Queensland and the registered plan of survey. If you skip this, get a material fact wrong, or hand it over after the buyer has already signed, the buyer has the right to terminate the contract at any point before settlement and recover their deposit. There is no grace period. Your solicitor prepares or checks the Form 2, but you as seller are legally responsible for its accuracy.

No. Queensland is the only major Australian state that does not license independent conveyancers. All residential conveyancing must be handled by a solicitor or law firm. When comparing quotes, ask for a fixed-fee conveyancing quote and confirm it covers preparing the contract, assembling the disclosure pack, corresponding with the buyer's solicitor, and conducting settlement electronically through PEXA. Typical seller-side solicitor fees for a straightforward Brisbane house sale run roughly $1,200 to $2,000 plus disbursements (searches and certificates), though this varies. Get at least two quotes before committing.

For a property in a community titles scheme, which covers most Brisbane units and townhouses, you must provide a body corporate certificate as part of your seller disclosure pack. This certificate, issued under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act, shows the current levies (administrative and sinking fund), whether any special levies have been raised, the by-laws, any known disputes, and the balance of the sinking fund. Order it from the body corporate manager as early as possible because turnaround times vary and you cannot give the buyer their Form 2 pack without it. Certificates typically cost $150 to $400 depending on the scheme size and urgency. If the body corporate has an embedded network or caretaking contract, disclose that too.

Once a buyer signs a residential contract in Queensland, they have five business days to cool off. During that window they can walk away for any reason and recover their deposit, minus a penalty of 0.25 percent of the purchase price. The cooling-off period starts the day the buyer receives a copy of the signed contract. As the seller you cannot waive or shorten it. It does not apply to properties sold at auction or to commercial sales. Practically, this means you should not make moving plans or release your own purchase deposit until the five-day window has closed and you have written confirmation from your solicitor that the buyer has not withdrawn.

The buyer pays transfer duty, not the seller. The rate is calculated by the Queensland Revenue Office on a sliding scale based on the purchase price. At a million-dollar purchase price the duty is roughly $38,000 for an investor, with concessions that reduce it for owner-occupiers and first home buyers. Because duty is a significant cost for buyers, it affects what they can offer, especially investors. You do not need to calculate it, but being aware of it helps you understand why investor offers sometimes come in lower. Confirm current rates and concessions at the Queensland Revenue Office website.

Yes, if your property has a pool. Queensland requires a current pool safety certificate issued by a licensed pool safety inspector before settlement. The certificate confirms the pool fence and gate comply with the Queensland Development Code. A certificate is valid for two years for a non-shared pool. If yours has expired or the fence does not comply, you need to fix the non-conformances and get a new inspection before you can settle. Pool safety inspectors are licensed by the QBCC (Queensland Building and Construction Commission) and typically charge $150 to $250 for an inspection. Factor in time for any fence repairs if your pool is older.

Brisbane buyers search almost exclusively on realestate.com.au and Domain. Neither portal accepts listings directly from sellers, only from licensed agents or approved listing services. The most cost-effective path is a flat-fee owner listing service that publishes your property on both portals while you handle inspections, offers, and negotiation yourself. Anyone.com is the owner-led route: it publishes to owners nationwide with no commission and no fee, letting you keep the 2.45 percent that would otherwise go to an agent. You still need a solicitor for the contract and disclosure pack, but you avoid the agent commission, which across Brisbane averages around 2.45 percent of the sale price plus GST.

Brisbane has been a fast, seller-favoured market. As of April 2026, Cotality put the median dwelling value at about AUD 1,116,180, with houses around AUD 1,222,906 and units around AUD 876,474, after annual dwelling growth of roughly 19.7 percent. Typical time on market was about 18 to 19 days, well inside the combined-capitals figure of around 27 days. So a realistically priced, well-presented home commonly goes under contract within two to three weeks. Set your price from recent sold comparables in your own suburb and current portal listings rather than from these citywide medians, which mask big differences between suburbs and between houses and units.

Since 1 August 2025, under the Property Law Act 2023, you must give the buyer a completed, signed Form 2 seller disclosure statement plus the prescribed certificates before they sign the contract. Those certificates include a current title search and the registered plan of survey; for a unit or townhouse in a community titles scheme you also need a body corporate certificate and community management statement, and you must disclose relevant statutory notices. If the disclosure is missing, handed over only after the buyer has signed, or inaccurate or incomplete on a material matter the buyer did not otherwise know about, the buyer can terminate the contract any time before settlement and get all their money back. There is no grace period, so this is the step private sellers most underestimate.

Brisbane buyers look almost exclusively on realestate.com.au and Domain, and neither accepts listings directly from owners; both publish only through a licensed agent or an approved listing service. The usual route for a private seller is a flat-fee for-sale-by-owner listing service that posts on your behalf while you run inspections, handle offers, and negotiate. Anyone.com is a straightforward owner-led alternative for reaching both portals without paying a selling commission; you list for free and capture the agent fee savings that average around AUD 24,000 to 27,000 on a Brisbane million-dollar sale. You still pay a solicitor for the contract and disclosure pack, but you avoid the agent's selling commission, which across Brisbane averages around 2.45 percent of the sale price plus GST, roughly AUD 24,000 to 27,000 on a million-dollar sale.